CURRENTS: STADIUM

CURRENTS: STADIUM; A Dome Where the Seats Move

By FRANCES ANDERTON

Published: September 9, 1999

Spectators in sports stadiums have seen plenty of roofs move. But the astounding Saitama Dome, north of Tokyo, will have an entire section of 10,000 seats, plus accompanying plumbing, lighting, concessions and ceiling sections, that moves on trucklike devices called ''bogeys.'' As a result, the dome can seat 30,000 (bottom picture) as a stadium, or 20,000 as an arena or even come down to 5,000 seats. The hybrid structure was designed by Dan Meis of NBBJ Sports and Entertainment, a Los Angeles sports design company that did the Staples Center Arena (opening in Los Angeles next month), in association with Ellerbe Becket and Nikken Sekkei Architects. The Saitama Dome, estimated to cost $750 million, will offer baseball, hockey, soccer, football, concerts, museums, shopping and restaurants. Mr. Meis beat out Rem Koolhaas, Richard Rogers, Kevin Roche and Arata Isozaki in a competition to design the dome. The building's stainless steel roof is intended to look as if it were racing along with the neighboring bullet train. Mitsubishi Heavy Industry is doing the engineering. The Saitama Dome is to open next spring.